Barack Obama’s approval rating continues to fall

What do you think about Barack Obama? For many Americans, the answer to this question has changed dramatically over the last 11 months. According to Gallup, 68% of American approved of Barack Obama shortly after his inauguration, while just 12% disapproved. Today, the latest approval rating is just 50%, while those who disapprove has increased to 44%.

Support among Democrats has been steady, while there has been a drop in support among Republicans, and a substantial decrease among independents. If you compare Barack Obama’s poll numbers to other Presidents at the same point in their Presidency, the numbers aren’t good. George W. Bush leads at 87%, followed by John F. Kennedy at 79%, George H.W. Bush at 70%, Dwight Eisenhower at 60%, Richard Nixon at 57%, Jimmy Carter at 56%, Ronald Reagan at 52%, and Bill Clinton at 49%. Isn’t it strange that the only President on the list to have a lower approval rating was also widely criticized for his handling of health care reform? What a coincidence!

If you look at the trends, and some of Barack Obama’s plans and actions, it is likely that his approval rating will continue to drop. He’ll likely receive a lot of criticism once debate begins on immigration reform legislation, especially in the current economic environment. Plus, there is the possibility that he will anger his Democratic supporters by not pushing for a single-payer health care system, not closing the Guantanamo Detention facility as quickly as promised, and potentially sending up to 40,000 additional soldiers to Afghanistan. These and many other decisions are potential problems for the President.

Of course, it’s also possible that people finally realize that Barack Obama isn’t what they thought he was. His talk about hope and change nothing but smoke and mirrors (and a lot of debt). Many rightfully criticzed Sarah Palin’s lack of experience, but were strangely silent on Barack Obama’s thin resume. Hopefully, his supporters are more careful about who they vote for next time, and they won’t be fooled by the media’s biased reporting.